Between War and Love
by dreamymee
Summary: Neji realises his affections for the weapon mistress a bit too late during the Cold, Ninja War. And so, he strives to find her amongst his dying comrades. Fluff. NejiTen. Oneshot.


"Tenten, you'll be in the fighting division. Neji, you'll be in charge of tracking enemy movements"

As soon as those words sprung out of the director's mouth, Neji felt one part of his body do a double-take. So they were separated? The feeling over perhaps never seeing his teammate alive again brought tingles of fear running down his spine in a hack of shivers. They had always been together since their genin days, training and missions, sparring together until sundown. Not being with her during this battle just made his stomach churn with unknown fear. Then it struck him: they might never train again, he will never see the smile adorning her youthful face during the early morning rays of sunlight. Those intimate, deep moments of confessions of their built-up frustrations would never happen again. Q

No, he cursed inwardly, no, i can't leave Tenten alone, i just can't.

"Got it" Tenten slung her knapsack over her shoulder, already turning to head over to the respective group that had assigned her in. A smile smile flitted over the kunoichi's face as she took a look at her comrade's stricken expression. To be frank, she wasn't all that pleased about their separation. Her and Neji had been working together all those years, and even Guy had admitted the fact that they seemed to dance with rhythm when paired up, or it's what they understood by 'the spring dance of youthfulness". If only she could just stay with him. Never in her life had she wanted to have some kind of special power, but right now she wished to be in possession of any kekkei genkai, if only they would put her with him.

'Laters Neji' she blinked back the buried tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks like crystalline jewels. If she met his gaze now? Her walls would crumble. Her hands tightened into fists at her sides, aching to feel his strong arms around her lithe body. Was it so bad to dream of the impossible?

"Wait, Tenten-" his words halted upon seeing the hurt flashing across her eyes like shadows casted over moonlight, his voice catching in his throat. She looked utterly, sorrowfully beautiful.

A sad smile graced her lips, but didn't reach her eyes "do your best, Neji" and with that, she turned on her heel and left.

_It hurts._

* * *

Neji tossed in his sleeping bag, a frown creasing his forehead and furrowing his eyebrows. Finally, giving up on trying to catch some zz's, he threw back his covers reluctantly and leaned against a nearby tree, eyes gazing at the beautiful shadows of loneliness that enveloped them in darkness.

It had been like this from the moment Tenten had left his side, he couldn't sleep, not even a wink of it. It was saddening really, when the end results only proved to be horrible as he failed to recognize different types of chakra. If he continued like this, he would slowly become only another puppet for the Hokage, not being useful at all.

"What's wrong Neji?"

The said boy turned to see Kiba sporting a sly grin "what's up your stuck-up ass?"

He ignored the dogboy's cynical adjective "go back to sleep, Kiba"

"Is this about your confused mind?" Kiba wriggled his eyebrows playfully at the Hyuuga prodigy, who in turn, rolled his eyes in annoyance. "What are you talking about?"

"One word: Tenten"

Neji's hands automatically clenched into tight fists, so tight that his knuckles turned white. Even then, he said nothing, confusion eating his stomach.

"Haaa, you really do like her" Kiba cocked his head to the side, measuring the Hyuuga's expression with intent concentration.

"I beg your pardon?" Neji blinked.

"You likeee her"

"Don't be absurd" the long-haired boy frowned "it isn't possible"

"C'mon Hyuuga, lighten up man. She'll get taken if you don't do something now" Kiba sighed. Neji might be the brightest among all of them, but in matters of love he was as innocent and vulnerable as a newborn baby learning how to walk.

Neji's frown only darkened while the pearly irises glowed dangerously into Kiba's chocolate brown ones. The prodigy detested annoying people, and right now Kiba's future was playing in his hands. However, the thought of Tenten flirting with another man just made him shudder and flinch with disgust. The wise Inuzuka boy just twitched his lips into a smile upon seeing frustration under Neji's pale mask.

"Seriously, why don't you just admit it? I've seen the way you look at her dude" Kiba ventured on.

"And how do i, may you explain, look at her?" The pale-eyes ninja's brow shot up in what could have been seen as mild amusement.

"With lust, with desire, with longing"

Neji didn't try to hold back his snort "tch."

"Neji, stop being an ass before she dies" Kibams eyes shone with hurt and glimmering passion. "It might be too late"

And what was he supposed to do? Sweep her off her feet with a romantic declaration? Along with countless amount of flowers and such, only to have her jump in joy at the thought of finally being with him?!

Neji didn't **_DO romance_**. **_Please,_** he had better things to do in his life.

Plus, he wasn't even that sure that the girl reciprocated his untouched feelings.

_Could she?_

* * *

"Neji nii-san! Watch out!" He dodged as a kunai flitted past him to bury itself deeply inside a boulder, and turned with the Byakuhan burning with intensity through his eyes. Throwing a punch at his attacker, the boy reared back to nod at his smaller cousin in thanks.

She panted out slightly "N-Neji nii-san..."

"Hai, Hinata-sama?" He kept his eyes in front of him in a defensive stance while watching Kiba do his work: Wiping out the enemy squad.

"I n-need you to find Tenten"

"I'm sorry Hinata-sama" he cut her off sternly "but i am needed in this division"

"N-nii-san" Hinata touched his arm gently, soft tears swimming in her eyes at the thought of her cousin never being able to confess his love to the one he beared this feeling for. "P-please, y-you might regret it..."

Swayed, because Neji hated seeing his dear cousin cry, he turned to watch Kiba's decisive nod along with a thumbs-up sign. He nodded back, and jumped away from the battlefield, his heart roaming for the one and only girl he pleaded for. It wasn't in Neji's behavior to let feelings conquer logic and safety of people, but this feeling of desire for the young female kunoichi was just burning deeper inside his heart every day, and he planned to tell her before the flame burned his entire body.

"Tenten!"

Neji stopped a coming attack from an opponent while keeping his eyes fixated on the bunhaired kunoichi only a distance away from him. Avoiding a fireball aimed at his head, he rushed to her side and threw his body over hers to shield her from the swift kunais hitting the back of trees as they toppled to the ground in a heap. Hoisting his weight off the surprised Kunoichi, he put himself in front of her and quickly got rid of the Zetsu clone that had been tailing her for ages.

Whirling around, he grabbed her hand and dashed towards a nearby boulder. Ducking his body alongside hers, he tugged on Tenten's hand so hard that she fell against him with a pained cry, both of them crashing to the ground.

Neji attempted to lift himself up, noticing their compromising position. Tenten was currently sitting in the pooled warmth of his lap, her hands resting on his well-built chest while fear reflected in the depth of her mocha eyes. He blinked, feeling her soft body pressing against his in an agonizing temptation that brought him down to earth. Why, oh why, of all people, did he have to have some kind of special affection for one of the curviest women found in Konoha? Or in the world, for that matter? It made him want to bash walls and tear things with his two bare hands.

Tenten, on the other hand, blushed profusedly. Throughout her whole life, she had never been that close to anyone, mentally nor physically. It was a mind-numbing sensation, feeling the warmth of Neji's body transparring to hers in waves of untouched desire. Granted, the girl had been in love with the Hyuuga prodigy since their genin days, but this was way beyond her imagination. She suddenly felt weird to be that close to him, much less think. Her thoughts seemed to turn into hot, melting puddles of mush that couldn't seem to form any coherent information. However, she wasn't a badass kunoichi for nothing, and she wasn't about to let anyone -even Neji- trespass her personal space in such an intrusive manner.

She opened her mouth to speak, a sudden frown peaking over her eyebrows "Neji, what are you doing here-" he crashes his lips down on hers to muffle her words in seductive, almost passionate dance. What the heck?! She wanted to scream out loud, blinking with cross-eyes at the Hyuuga boy who seemed to be lost in the kiss. The pressure of his lips was tender, but hard and rough at the same time, that left her breathless for more. She gulped when feeling her cheeks glow with a familiar peony tint, trying her best to push him away and compose herself. Releasing her lips, he let her breathe for a moment, loving how easily he could make the blood concentration weave right through her face and how her short little breaths seemed innocent and inexperienced, vulnerable.

Her doe, mocha eyes blinked at him in utter confusion. "W-What was that?"

It must have been the only time in his whole life that Hyuuga Neji would her Tenten stuttering. And damn, it was cute as hell.

The corner of his lips hitched up into a slight smile, and without answering her, he bent down again to catch her lips, this time weaving his arms around her tensed frame and closing the distance between their bodies. She smelt like rain and fresh water, tasted like roseberries and something sweet that left the Ninja yearning for more; more of her, and her body, and those addictive lips. Slowly, she relaxed in his hold, and hesitantly leaned into him with a bashful innocent action that made him smirk at her inexperience in those things. He coaxed her lips, nibbling on the bottom part with his teeth while his tongue joined a few second later, making her gasp and shiver and each lick, each touch, each bite.

She yelped suddenly when he broke away to bury his face into the deepest parts of her inviting neck, nuzzling the area affectionately like a cute kitten wanting for milk.  
"O...Okay. Neji, what is going on?"

He sighed against her, his lips leaving ghostly kisses across the curve of her milky skin that seemed to cringe and shy away at every touch of his, leaving him excited and giddy for gaining this kind of reaction. So the Kunoichi wasn't that immune to men's touch. "I've longed to do this" he spoke softly, the soft baritone of his voice sending delicious shivers down her spine.

Tenten breathed through her nose, the splotches on her cheeks threatening to get permanent "What? W-Why?"

Couldn't blame her, her brain had just momentarily stopped working.

Neji's nose decided that he wanted more of her scent, so he traced a path down her collarbones, nipping and biting them softly with his teeth while he hugged her tightly against him. His face found the valley between her breasts and without any trace of embarrassment - which, considering Hyuuga Neji was something mega startling as he wasn't one to show his affections (pervy ones at that) in public in broad daylight - nuzzled the said area while inhaling and sighing like a contented man.

"Maybe because i love you" He murmured.

She paused, and a long silence ensued.

She choked on her own saliva "Are...you kidding me?"

His face rose so that his white orbs clashed into her brown, chocolate ones, mild anger and frustration hidden behind those pearly pupils "Do i look like i'm joking?" He growled sexily.

"Well, I-eek!" She meeped softly upon feeling his teeth graze alongside the length of her earlobe, nibbling on it.

"S-So, you t-travelled all the way over here...just to tell me that?" She blinked in confusion. Neji shrugged half-heartedly, glad that she didn't get a glimpse of his fae at that moment while he leaned his head in the crook of her neck, but not before pecking her softly on the lips.

She suddenly burst out laughing. "I never took you for a romantic, oh NEji-kun!" She laughed harder as Neji's head shot up to glare at her.

"Tenten" He growled. Neji was sexy when he did something such as growl, the said girl decided gleefully, unable to contain the fact that Neji had confessed to her, it seemed like a dream come true.

"Yes Neji?" She giggled again but this instsntly turned into a squeak when his lips met hers again.

OH, the joy.

**WELL?:D LIKED IT? REVIEW AND FOLLOW! NEJITEN FOREVERRRR! 3**


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